1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a piezoelectric device, a piezoelectric actuator, a droplet ejecting head, and a droplet ejecting apparatus.
2. Related Art
In a technical field in which a thin piezoelectric device is capable of being produced and being driven at high speed, a piezoelectric actuator and an ink jet recording head are known, which are capable of being manufactured by a thin film technique. For example, JP-A-2000-326503 discloses an ink jet recording head that is capable of being manufactured by the thin film technique.
The ink jet recording head disclosed in JP-A-2000-326503 has a configuration in which a piezoelectric layer covers an upper surface and a side surface of a lower electrode of a piezoelectric device. Furthermore, in order to suppress oxidization of the lower electrode during a formation process of the piezoelectric layer, Pt is used as a material of the lower electrode.
In cases where an easily oxidizable material is used for the lower electrode, the lower electrode is oxidized during the formation process of the piezoelectric layer to cause volume expansion. Therefore, such a material may cause disadvantages such as separation of the lower electrode and generation of cracks. Accordingly, the material to be used for the lower electrode has been selected from limited types of materials.